UK slips behind in the global race for nuclear energy dominance. Boris Johnson's wind delusion poses national security risk. UK slips behind in the global race for nuclear energy dominance
London, The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) today urged Boris Johnson to respond firmly to China's increasingly threatening geopolitical power shift by accepting that the government's prioritisation of wind and solar energy is now standing in the way of an effective and affordable energy system based on natural gas and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Without moving towards a thermodynamically competent and thus affordable generation of both heat and electricity, the United Kingdom, and the West more generally, will rapidly concede global economic leadership and political dominance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This is no mere theoretical speculation. In the last few days, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has commenced construction of the first Small Modular Reactor (SMR), based on China’s own ACP100 (Linglong One) Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) design, and with a capacity 125 MW. Reports predict a 95% load factor, and an annual output of 1,000,000 MWh of electrical energy. China has some 19 other nuclear power stations under construction. The degree to which China is dominating nuclear power construction can be gauged from this striking graphic being widely circulated in the industry:
Figure 1: Global nuclear reactor construction from first pouring of concrete to grid connection. Labelled reactors took longer than 5,000 days, sorted by first concrete. TMI = Three Mile Island. Source: ©Grant Chalmers - https://pris.iaea.org In spite of some encouragement in recent announcements (“Government progresses demonstration of next generation nuclear reactor”), there are concerning signs that Mr Johnson’s government does not fully appreciate either the potential or the urgency of ensuring that SMRs are deployed more rapidly to prevent China from dominating the global market for nuclear generation, as well as reaping the rewards of the cheap energy it will provide to industry.
Global electricity demand will more than double by 2050, with this growth almost entirely in developing and emerging markets. The global market for nuclear power could triple by 2050, but as Britain and the US go green they are fast losing the race for the nuclear power market to China and Russia. For the full Press Release in pdf, please click on this link:
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